Tag Archives: inspiration

Exactly one year ago, I was in Pune writing a different theme article on the occasion of Republic day, here in 2016, I’m sitting in my hostel room thinking of a completely different perspective of the same theme. This year’s 26th January began at midnight in a library’s reading room, where I was watching funny stuff on YouTube. I began watching at 9.30pm and saying just one more video, it was 12.15. I hurried my way back to my room and slept around 12.30.

I couldn’t resist myself from taking this from “Man of Steel”, but it is a stellar line with relevance to one’s nationalism!

The actual Republic day began at 7.30 in the morning. As I put my toothbrush, towel, soiled clothes into my bucket, I realized that at this time last year, I was sleeping in my cozy bed back home, and here I’m this year readying myself up before anybody else for a clean hostel bathroom. I didn’t pay much attention to the activities at hand- washing clothes, brushing teeth, bathing, but I was lost thinking about my country India, and what I was doing for her on this patriotic day. I was being a youth, educating myself and sustaining myself on my own scholarship which I earned by my own merit, and not deviating from the path of hard work. A story of an ideal Indian youth, I was doing my bit for my country indirectly, I was keeping my hostel premise (including my room) clean, and being civil in foreign place. My thought process was briefly interrupted by an empty Lays packet which lay in front of room’s door. It must have being thrown from above or maybe someone from the same floor threw it. I calmly pick up the packet and throw in the dustbin which is present on a right turn away from my room. Thoughts regarding lack of civic sense of head explode in my head. Out of nowhere a Trojan thought emerges – What does my country do for me? Should my country do something for me or it is just a one way street- me doing something for the country?!

This suddenly reminded me of the story my dad narrated to me, when I was home during vacation. We were on our way back from vacation in a car at night and were distressed by the way people drove their cars on the road and general lack of empathy they exhibited. The story is recent one, the Japanese government was surveying train station across the country, as they wanted to find the usability of each station by people. They found out that there was one particular station, which was the least commuted by people, and they marked this station for dismantling. In all this scheming, the government officials heard news about a little girl who frequently used the station to go to her school, which was in a nearby town. Moreover, train was the only way by which the girl was going to her school every day. Dismantling the station would disrupt the girl’s education, so the government officials decide that they would leave the station as it is, until the girl completed her education. This was an exceptional example of a country caring for her citizens, it was country doing something for its people. I rarely see such an example in India. Patriotism is a two way street, just like any other relationship- friendship between two people, family relations, it requires efforts from both ends. It is just not enough to be good citizens of a nation, the nation should also treat its citizens with dignity and respect. Lack of civic sense in public space of people, highlight only one thing- bad citizens. How can such people be patriotic for its nation?? Playing patriotic songs on loudspeakers on occasion of Republic and Independence day is just not enough, doing this illuminates how superficial our love is for our country. Being good citizens is NOT enough for the progress on our nation, the nation should also display examples of inspiration, nationalism, otherwise it generates a new class of citizens- Uninspired Patriots.

We take photographs to capture memories. It helps us capture past times, times that will never return. We all feel that sense of accomplishment and excitement when we take a good photograph. But I want to ask you this one question, what is a good photograph? A photograph that truly captures the moment? Once in a while, we take such a photograph, and when we look back at it, we fell accomplished and happy. There are some photos, which not only capture the moment, but they capture the sharpness and brutality of reality. I took one such photo, when I was cycling back home. As I was cycling back home, I saw this scene, and thought to myself, “This would be an awesome scene to click”, so I stopped, parked my cycle, took out my cell phone and clicked away. What I didn’t realize at that instance was that this would be one photo that I would remember for a long time.

As you can see, there is a small house in a depression of ground, this ground is not dry, but it is partly covered by water. This made me think of the life we live. How our surroundings are a manifestation of our thoughts and perspective that we hold dear. That depression on the ground is the spectrum (range of our mind), and that lone house signifies us. If you imagine the house to be a living being, like a tree which cannot move, it doesn’t really know what is beyond the border edge. It doesn’t really realize how beautiful and wonderful this life is, it only sees what the mind reflects. The moral this photograph taught me was to never narrow down our sight rather our vision, always keep an open point of view. You can’t be like that house, you have to more than that, you have be like the trees that surround the house, ever growing, and having a broad perspective of the overall world. Ironical to what I captured, we are unfortunately like that house in depression, which is happy to see things that are directly in front of it, but completely ignorance of how vast the world is beyond the boundaries. We should always remember one thing in our life, we SHOULD not be closed minded individuals, with a rigid set of ideals, but rather we should be open for inspiration, we should have the capability to see beyond the walls that surround us. Remember, there are thousands of things to envision beyond the ordinary things right in front of you.

As I was swapping channels on my TV I coincidentally came upon this amazing movie named Forrest Gump. It is a story of a specially abled man how despite all the problems he goes about to lead an inspiring life where he goes to fight the Vietnam war, returns triumphantly, and then goes about to take an adventure where he runs the whole of america for 3 continuous years. It also narrates how this mans life goes about to influence the life of his army lieutenant Dan, his childhood sweetheart jenny and his best friend Bubba. I’m NOT going to review this but I wanted to write an article about it because I was inspired by it. The movie is a light hearted, at the same time it made me cringe. It consolidates a simple concept in our life which we normally forget as we grow old. The concept of honesty and sincerity in work and also to work not for returns but for the fun of it. In our life we tend to work because we want the world to see us, celebrate us for the talent we possess. We forget that some things have to be done sincerely because we make promises to our dear ones. It particularly helps me remind that we have to do certain things for the fun of it and NOT for fame.

One of the greatest quotes this film has made

Our parents teach us this simple lessons but as we grow up we forget that. It also told me an another interesting thing- No job is small and all jobs share an equal importance. Home is one place you should never forget, the ideals our parent teach are very important and we should hold them as long as we are alive. Forrest Hump runs for 3 continuous years(resting only for food and sleep) not for fame but for the sake of it, and goes about to change and inspire people all over America and also the entire world. Hard work and sincerity should be our sole principles in life. He goes about to change the life of his former army lieutenant Dan who is disheartened because he is crippled during war but Forrest gump saves his life during war and changes him completely. Live your life for the fun of it and to inspire others and remember to save them during their dire times.

It has being a long time since I written my earliest type of article the song chronicles, it will be the first time I will publish this type of article on my new blog. This time the song that has taken some considerable time in my life is this velvet glove, it starts off on a rather interesting guitar piece, and the feel of the song is a little spiritual rather i should say philosophical.

One of the most difficult thing in our life is to live in the present, it is an irony that it should be a difficult thing but it is so. We either are lost in the thoughts about our future or past. Well the same thing happened to me too, a few years ago as well as a few days back I was a bit lost in the memory lane of my dark past, this song did take my breath away and it made me figure this song out on my beloved piano. As I was saying my past is a little ‘close to my skin’ even though it is not so memorable. I’m trying really hard to move on rather I’m still to trying to settle in my present(Sittin’ by the phone I’m left alone In another zone)it is not so easy to do that(someone who has been I’m falling in). People suggest me that it is better to move on and not dwell on my past but enjoy the moment after all it is not an easy task(John says to live above hell My will is well). During some times in my life, there have been instances when I thought that people were just expecting me to fail, but these present times are not that times, the present life that I have being the best days of my life, there is a saying that old habits don’t die so easily so I think it is an old habit that might be lingering behind that has being troubling me(no one is waiting for me to fail my will could sail)

After reading all this you might just feel that all that I’m doing is that I’m wasting my precious time thinking about the past and speculating that the past does not repeat itself in the future. But I believe that past is something that you should carry with yourself and it should be a source of your inspiration for living your present life. At times I feel that my past is just another best friend I have in my life who has being with me through thick and thin, but at the same time I feel that this guy has just over stayed his life, and now whenever an opportunity prevails for him to come up he comes up eagerly and tell me his dream(I want to taste the taste of Being face to face with common grace To meditate on the warmest dream And when I walk alone I listen To our secret theme). He tells me that his dream is to see you on the top of this world, I want to see you succeed in life. Even though my past is just a thought the lyrics of the song tell me the truth and it makes me imagine my past as a friend.

Some dreams of your past and your present are one and the same thing…

As I look into his(the past) eyes, they are clear unfortunately they are filled with hate for this world, besides this these eyes are so clear that you can see through him feel what he feels, they speak the truth. The truth behind the fact that even though I might have moved on from the past, he will follow me into the future and he will dictate me what I should do in my life. The real deal is to choose between two things the dream of my past or the dream of my present(Your solar eyes are like Nothing I have ever seen Somebody close That can see right through I’d take a fall and you know That I’d do anything I will for you).

The Chorus, maybe one of the most powerful and energetic chorus I ever listened to

One of the most powerful lyrics I have ever heard

As I move on with my life, I work for my future a bright future, well everyone works like that not just me.(Sailin’ for the sun ‘Cause There is one Knows where I’m from I care for you I really do I really do).One thing I want to showcase this world is that I’m what I’m in the present and not what has become of me because of my past. It is one of the difficult things to do, rather it is one of the few things I’m struggling with in my present. But as I try to move on and start believing that the past doesn’t define you but the good things that happen in my life define you, my dreaded and dear friend the past returns, he comes up because I unintentionally called him back.( Come closer now So you can lie Right by my side Sit alone in the sun I wrote a letter to you Getting over myself)

This time I tell him the truth that I have finally moved on and I don’t need you anymore besides this he again remind me of ‘our secret theme’. As you unintentionally think about your past and thing about the time you have moved on from it, you will observe a pattern a pattern regarding how your life turned out after you moved, this pattern tells you that the truth that you found it hard to believe earlier- the past does not repeat itself. The thing that happen to you in your life is the most unlikely ways are not among the signs that the past is going, but they are an indication that such things are a part and parcel of the real world affecting you. You will realize that disaster or rather I should say that the unlikely events that happen in your life is the real world’s way of making you stronger and cleverer for facing it boldly and not running away from it(Disasters are Just another star Falling in my yard John says to live above hell My will is well). The bitter irony you shall see from this is that the past from which you are trying to move away from, will eventually catch up with your present self, and it will make you realize one of the strangest things in life- the joy that you get from running from it is less than the happiness you acquire when you hold onto your dreaded friend the past(Long to be with Someone to tell I love your smell). It painstakingly tell you that you will eventually succeed in your life and that you can never get rid of me in your life because I’m (the past) just a part of you.